In Joy and Sorrow, My Homes In Your Arms
by big city blues
Summary: Takes place after[and a little during] the battle at the end of Angel. After the battle Angel gets his shanshu, and goes to find Buffy. Theres a lot of fluff, and a little drama...
1. Don't Close Your Heart

Disclaimer: As much as I wish Angel belonged to me, he doesn't. And none of the other characters belong to me either. But that would be fun.

Chapter 1.

"Spike, duck!" Angel called out the warning all too late as he watched his companion fall to the ground after receiving what, for a mortal, would have been a fatal blow, but for Spike it only knocked him out of his senses for a few moments.

"Balls." Spike murmured as he rose to his feet to face the rather large, rather stinky, rather strong, rather fast demon.

The team of heroes was fairing well against the unimaginable odds. Except Gunn who, as Illyria had estimated, fell limp after only ten minutes. Though his last minutes were more admirable than most peoples would have been given 1000 minutes. He had killed at least 3 demons, and for a wounded human, that was amazing. He would truly be remembered—unless of course they all happened to die and no one would be able to tell their tale.

The number of demons quickly dwindled down, though throughout the brawl the number of heroes, minus Gunn, had stayed the same. Up until a female clad in black emerged from the alley, immediately identified as Faith. Without words the rouge Slayer joined the fight, aiding Spike in his squabble against the demon that ended almost as soon as Faith joined. Spike only nodded in thanks and moved onto the next of the demons. Angel, on the other hand, was piling up the demons without any help. There were at least 7 dead in front of him, and countless other corpses scattered about that he'd vanquished. That's when his eyes again fell on the dragon, taunting him in the sky. As soon as it landed… he attacked…

The dragon fell to the ground, and a very wounded Angel tumbled off its back, onto the wet ground near to it, clutching his bleeding side. Moments later the head of the dragon fell a few feet away from its body. Angel just sat near his finest kill, smirking widely in spite of the wounds, and ongoing fight. In his current condition now, he wouldn't be much help anyway. And there were only a few demons left, although he soon noticed that the only fighters left standing were Faith and Spike. Illyria had fallen at the hands of a huge demon. Though he had hardly warmed up to Illyria as of yet, he still grieved for her. Although his grieving was cut short, as he fell unconscious.

The chocolate brown orbs that belonged to Angel slowly fluttered open as he was shaken by Faith. His eyes settled on her, and as the blur faded from his vision, he could see that she was crying. His gaze shifted away from her, around the alley where the biggest battle of their lives had taken place. No one. He was alone with Faith. "Angel." Faith sobbed, relief surrounding her tone. "I thought you were—but your heart, Angel—your heart." She didn't even have to say it. He knew it. He could feel it. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, he could feel his lungs finally working. He could feel his humanity- restored. But why? Why, when he'd signed it away. So willingly, so selflessly. That's why. The Powers That Be admired Angel so much so that they decided to give him everything he'd wished for since he first laid his eyes on _her_. Her, you ask, who is 'her'? The only Her in Angel's mind. Buffy Anne Summers. He slowly sat, a smile creeping onto his face. He failed to notice every cut and bruise; they lined his body so fully… he was so wounded. Faith, though, looked alright. A cut here and there, and a few bruises, but all around she looked fine. Angel slowly, with help from Faith, rose to his feet. "Stay down." Faith advised Angel, it appeared he didn't even hear her.

"Buffy…" Angel muttered softly, causing Faith to arch a brow.

"What's B gatta do with anything?" She inquired curiously.

"I-I have to go see her. I'm human. I can—I have to go. She-I-I have to go now."

"Woah, woah, woah, B can wait! You've gatta take a trip to the hospital!" Faith told him, he shook his head.

"No. I have to go to her!" Angel, at this point, jerked out of Faith's grip, leaving her stunned that this new and injured human could walk alone with no help. But he could, of course, nothing would keep him from her, not now that they could be together without risking his soul and her safety. They could be happy.

The airport was only a few miles from the alley, but to Angel it seemed as though it had been thousands. His wounds had stopped bleeding and scabbed over. God, he looked horrible, in a totally not horrible way, that is. His face was covered in blood, from wounds on his forehead, lip, and the top of his head, and his cheek. His arm was limp because of a gash on its upper portion. His knee was broken and his body was covered with blood, both his own and not. He wasn't questioned by security or anyone, after all, he was the CEO of the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart—when it stood. He was wordlessly boarded onto a private jet, heading for Rome—heading for Buffy.

Hours later he arrived and hobbled off the plane, walking towards Buffy's home. He'd been there twice or so, and he already knew the way by heard. As the home cae into view he was having second thoughts: _What if she doesn't want me anymore? She's with The Immortal, what if she's happy with him? She could be happy with me! Why is she with him anyway?! That obnoxious arrogant cocky bastard! I'm MUCH better looking than he is! How could she sink so God damned low?! She has the MOST horrible taste in men!... Other than me, of course._

At that point he found himself standing at the door, nervously urging himself to knock. Finally, he did. Even more nervous as he waited for the door to open. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't let him. This was it. The knob was turning like Angel's stomach as cocoons hatched small butterflies that fluttered inside his gut. God, how he wanted to run… _stupid legs._


	2. Heartache Every Moment

Chapter Two.

"Angel?!" Buffy asked before she even had the door fully open. "What are you doing he—." Her words stopped as she felt Angels hand cover hers. It was warm, but she didn't notice that. He slowly lifted it to his chest, over his beating heart. Her eyes grew wide and for a moment he thought she might faint, but she didn't. "Angel, you,… you have a heart beat…" She muttered, dumbfounded as she started at his chest with wide eyes. She hardly even noticed when he nodded. "H-How?"

"Shanshu." Angel replied simply. Buffy's brows furrowed.

"What about shoes?" She questioned, giving a quizzical expression, causing Angel to smile.

"A prophecy, stating that when a souled vampire saves the world his humanity gets returned," He explaied. "As a reward." Buffy, at this, nodded

"O-Oh." He could tell she was still dumbfounded by his sudden appearance, and humanity.

"Yup."

"Wow."

"I know."

"That's—great."

"Yeah." Their conversation abruptly stopped as they both turned their heads to look inside, at the beeping on the microwave.

"My easy mac!" Buffy exclaimed as she ran towards the kitchen, suddenly stopping, to look back at Angel. "Wanna eat with me?" She asked. Angel gave a slight nod and entered, following her to the kitchen.

Buffy sat cross legged, staring at Angel, who was doing the same. Both had small blue bowls of easy mac. "This stuffs good." Angel commented, breaking the silence that had captured them after they stopped laughing at how horrible their lives had been.

"I know!" Buffy exclaimed, taking a bite. "I can't believe you lived your life without it!" She added after chewing and swallowing her food. Angel nodded, taking a bite himself.

"Really good…" He mumbled after swallowing. "Do you have any—mint fudge chocolate chip?" Angel asked quietly, his eyes shifting away from the bowl, where he had had them fixed moments before, to look at Buffy.

"Of course!" Buffy said enthusiastically. She put her bowl down and hopped off the counter, rushing to the freezer. She pulled it open and searched for only a moment, Angel staring at her back. She then pulled out the ice cream, a soft smile of victory on her lips. She didn't bother with bowls this time. She just grabbed two spoons and got back up on the counter, handing the second spoon to Angel, whose eyes had shifted to the ice cream.

One hour and two cartons of ice cream later a silence fell over the pair, though it wasn't awkward. It was just quiet. They didn't need to speak. They could say all they needed to just by looking into each others eyes.

"I want to kiss you…" Angel whispered, breaking the silence. Buffy's eyes grew slightly wider as she hopped off the counter.

"Do you have a hotel room, yet?" She asked, quickly changing the subject. She hated herself for not telling him that he could kiss her—but she just wasn't ready to get into that. Angel frowned at the reply he got, but shook his head all the same.

"No. I should go and—find one."

"No! Well I mean, why waste money, when you can stay with me? –Stay in my house, I mean… with me…" She said awkwardly, her brows furrowing with frustration. She just couldn't make it sound the way that she wanted it to.

"I'd lo—well, I don't—I don't want to be a burden, or anything."

"No burden. I was actually getting lonely, anyway." Buffy admitted. "With Dawn at college in Cleveland and all…" Angel gave a nod of understanding.

"Then I'd be happy to stay."

"Great, you can sleep in my room."

"With you?"

"I'll set up a mattress on the floor…"

"Oh. Okay. Or, if you want, I could sleep on the couch."

"I'm in the mood for a slumber party."

"Uh, oh. Okay…"Buffy led Angel to the bedroom, then told him to sit down as she exited the room. Of course Angel did as he was told. He sat on the edge of the light pink bed, his eyes shifting around the room. There were stuffed animals in chairs, and on the bed, and clothes all over the floor. He saw a few bras, but being the guy he is, he forced himself not to look at them, and fixed his eyes on the poster on her wall of Freddie Prince Jr. His eyes immediately narrowed into a glare at the poster. His eyes shifted around the light blue painted room, his ears listened for Buffy, when he heard her in the other room he quickly got up off the bed and ran over to the wall. He grabbed the poster and tore it down, then began to rip it up. As soon as he was done he stuffed the pieces in his pocket and sat back down, just as Buffy entered, dragging a mattress behind her.

"Hey… where'd my… poster go?" She asked, looking around. Angel gave an innocent smile and a shrug.

"I didn't see it when I came in. Maybe Dawn took it before she left, or something." Buffy frowned slightly, and then put the mattress down by the foot of her bed. She then dropped to the floor on her stomach and looked under her bed. She suddenly stood up, holding a Legolas poster. Angel cringed at the blonde haired hottie. He watched her as she put it in Freddie's place, frowning inwardly, though showing no sign of the frown on the outside. Buffy then fixed the mattress to be next to her bed. She looked over at Angel, then walked over to her closet and pulled out sheets, and a blanket. Angel stood from the edge of the bed. "I'll help you with that." He offered, Buffy handed him some of the blankets, then proceeded to put the sheets on herself. He, when she had finished, put the blankets over the mattress.

"Now," Buffy finally spoke. "I've got to change, so, er, turn around?" Angel nodded, turning around, only to find that he was forced to stare at Legolas while Buffy changed. He frowned, and glared at the poster. How could she think of him as good looking he had… messed up… eye brows? _Stupid… eyebrow messed up… asshole… he'll get his… he'll get his…_ Angel thought. "Okay, you can turn around now." Buffy told him, tearing him away from his thoughts as he turned away from the poster. His gaze immediately softened as he looked at her in her sushi pajamas. Before he knew it he was standing close to her, snaking his arms around her waist, pulling her into, what he though, was the best kiss he'd ever given. She thought it was too, as she moved her arms around his neck, returning the kiss. Angel was soon on top of her, on her bed.


	3. Buried Alive By Love

Authors note: D Thanks to all the people who reviewed. I wont make many more authors notes until about chapter seven, because I've already got all the other chapters uploaded. I just noticed a load of spelling errors and things I wanted to change in this one. So I decided to do this.

Kim-I know you would've gone for Feramir. I was originally going to do Gandalf, just because I'm that weird And I made it easy mac because it fit with the cheesy-ness of that chapter.

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Angel awoke that morning expecting to see the petite blonde in his arms, expecting to smile down at her, and see her smile back, but alas no. His dreams weren't going to come true, not yet. He slowly got out of the warm bed, not even bothering to cover himself as he headed for the door out of the bedroom, to find Buffy. But he stopped, his heart, he thought, stopped beating, at what he saw through the cracks in the door. Buffy-_HIS_ Buffy- making out by the front door with The Immortal. He could feel his heart-his newly beating heart- breaking, slowly, crumbling off into the oblivion, along with his dreams, all of his dreams that had kept him going for so long. God, he felt like he was going to cry. But he wasn't. He couldn't. He had to be strong. He had to keep a straight and emotionless face through all the heartache, and look straight into the cold future that now lay before him. He had to deal with this—by leaving. He hurried to get dressed. Just as soon as he had his jacket on Buffy entered the room, fixing her hair. As Angel looked at her he cringed and looked down. She failed to notice this as she slowly closed in on him, going in to kiss him. He suddenly shoved her away. "Slut." He muttered harshly, causing Buffy's eyes to go wide.

"What?" She asked, not believing ANGEL had just said that to her. I mean, he's Angel, he doesn't call Buffy a slut… until now.

"You heard me." His tone oozed with harshness.

"Why are y—oh… you—oh. Angel, I'm s—." He cut her off.

"Don't waste your breath." He spat out as he walked out of her room. Moments later he walked back in, a small smile formed on Buffy's lips, thinking he wouldn't leave. But her smile left as she watched him tear down the Legolas poster and rip it up, then toss the remains of the other poster out of his pockets, and then walk back out. She stared after him, a look of dismay on her facial features. She just stood, and watched as her true love walked out on her, leaving her to silently brood and feel guilt for the problems she's caused. But no matter how much she hurt, she realized that he was hurting more. Their hearts, along with their souls, cried out for each other, yearning to be together, hardly able to take the pain of being apart for another day.

"How do you like that?!" Angel inquired towards the television, continuously pressing the 'A' button on his controller, watching the small female character on the television punch over and over and over and over—Some people called it cheating, but to an expert of fighting like Angel, it wasn't. Angel understood that in life you had to do whatever was necessary to win, whether it be throwing continuous punches so your opponent couldn't strike you down, or just simply pressing the off button when things got tough. Whatever you had to do to win. All is fair in—fighting!

"You have four new messages." The shrill robotic feminine voice on the other end of the cell phone in the hands of the use-to-be vampire's warm hand. He let out an exasperated and pained sigh, knowing each would be from _her_. It was always _her_. He entered the password quickly. "Press one to hear voice messages." He pressed one before any other options came up.

"Angel, it's me." Buffy's raw hoarse voice proved she'd been crying, it gave Angel an odd sort of satisfaction, and it made him want to cry too and hold her, both at the same time. "Angel, I know that I hurt you, and that alone hurts me. I was just-I don't know. I left him. I called him after you left, and told him I didn't want to see him again. I love you, Angel, I'm so sorry." She sobbed into the phone before the message cut off. The next one began where the last one had left off. "I messed up bad. I hurt the one person that I truly love and want to be with, the one person that makes me completely happy. And I hate myself for it. Your kiss alone made me feel happier than I was in heaven, do you know how scary that is? I-I'm so sorry. I love you." And that was where the second message cut off. He wondered for a moment what the next would say, she seemed to have said it all already. But he didn't have to wait long to find out. "Angel, I-I think I'm pregnant… You're probably thinking that this is just some ploy to get you back—its not. I really think that I might be—we need to talk…" This last message left Angel staring ahead of himself in a state of shock.


	4. Heaven Tonight

Chapter four.

Angel was still in a state of shock as his fingers dialed the number he knew so well, even though he'd never called it.

"Hello?" Buffy answered the phone, he wanted to hang up, but he couldn't.

"You're pregnant?" Angel asked on the other end.

"Angel, I really think we need to talk in person. D-do you want to come over?"

"Is it mine?" He asked.

"I really don't want to have this conversation over the phone."

"Fine. I'll be right over…"

"I'l-I'll see you, then…"

"Bye." Angel was the first to hang up as he started walking quickly to her home. After Buffy hung up she hurried to clean up the tissues all over the floor, and to clean herself up, her hair and make up. And maybe put on some nice clothes.

Buffy rushed to the door, fixing her hair, pulling her slightly clingy black long sleeve shirt down. She looked nice, especially with her fake smile and her puffy red eyes. She opened the door, faking the smile towards Angel. God, he looked so beautiful. She could cry… but she didn't. She'd cried too much already.

"Hi." She greeted. Angel's face was void of emotion; his eyes were just empty pools of brown as he stared down at her. But his gaze suddenly softened. He couldn't look at her face, so he stared down at her stomach.

"Is it mine?" He asked softly. She frowned and grabbed his arm gently, pulling him inside. He shut the door behind himself

"I haven't… the last person I had sex with before you was Spike, back in Sunnydale when I first got back f-from h—If its not yours then its not anybody's." Angel bit his lip slightly as she led him over to the couch. She sat, and he sat on the opposite side. She frowned, and felt like crying again. But she held it in. She guessed he could just sense the tears coming. She guessed he knew her well enough to be able to tell. Because he took her hand and scooted himself closer.

"What you did—I don't know if I can ever trust you again."

"I would understand if you didn't."

"That was a lie, Buffy. What I said was a lie. I-I mean, you're the person I trust most in the world. I'd put my life in your hands inless than asecond, without even a thought about it. And as much as I don't want to forgive you, as much as I try to stay mad at you… I hate how much I love you. You could sleep with one thousand men and stick a knife through my stomach, and I'd still love you. Hell, you killed me before, and I'm still in love with you. But it's… it's going to take a while. To get back—to be—it's just going to take a while."

"I-I know it will. I know. But I-I want to be with you. I want to be with you so bad. And I don't want this baby to grow up without a father." Angel's hand slowly slipped away from Buffy's to lightly caress her stomach.

"It's going to have a father. I'm not going anywhere… we can be together…"

"Can I kiss you?" Buffy asked her voice almost inaudible, trembling. Angel gave a slight cringe at her words. He didn't want to—but God how he wanted to. He sat still for a moment, not giving an answer. But after a moment he found himself slowly closing the space between them until his lips met hers in a soft tender kiss. His hand that he'd had on her stomach slowly slipped around her waist, resting on the small of her back. His other hand found its way to the back of her neck. Her arms moved around his neck as the kiss got more intense. Neither one pulled back as Angel slowly moved so that Buffy was lying down, and he was on top of her. You can imagine what happens next.

At some point while the two were undressing and kissing they made their way into the bedroom. They now lay under the covers, Buffy's head resting on his chest, who had his arms around her petite frame. She was sleeping, but he wasn't. He was staring at her, stroking her hair gently, kissing her forehead every few minutes. A baby. They were going to have a baby… and in those moments while he watched her sleep, he couldn't have been happier about it. Buffy yawned; Angel thought she was the cutest thing, her face scrunching up slightly. Her hands moved to her face and gently rubbed her eyes, and then moving her arm over his torso, his arms still around her. She smiled up at him, and Angel, who had already been smiling, captured her lips in a short and sweet good morning kiss. "Morning, sunshine." Angel mumbled quietly, their lips still close.

"I'm cookies." She said softly, kissing his chest. "I'm cookies…" She repeated her voice still low, but proud and happy. Her words sent a happy chill down Angel's spine and he held her even closer. "I'm yours. Angel, I've always been yours." She whispered. "God, if this is some fantastic dream, then I want to sleep forever."

"Yeah, you and me both." Angel replied, smiling as her head moved above his heart.

"I love that sound." She stated, still speaking softly, as if talking at a normal volume would ruin whatever they had.

"It feels pretty good too."

"I'm glad you aren't gone anymore… if you'd left me, and not come back… I don't know what I would've done…" She spoke, her fingers idly making small circles along Angel's chest. "I don't want you to ever go away again… promise you'll never leave?" She inquired, looking up at his face, rather than at his chest now. His body tensed at her question. In a world with vampires and demons and trouble lurking in every shadow, what was he suppose to say? Should he lie, and tell her he'd be around forever, just to see her beautiful smile, or tell her the truth, and risk hurting her? He contemplated silently for a long moment, until he felt Buffy's hand on his cheek. "It's alright… I wouldn't have answered either." She murmured, kissing him. After the kiss she yawned, and Angel grinned.

"You're tired."

"Are you psychic or something?" She half mocked.

"I wish… go to sleep." He ordered softly, stroking her hair gently. She nodded, and slowly closed her eyes, asleep within minutes.

Humanity was a wonderful thing to Angel. Not only could he be with Buffy, but he could do one other thing too.

Fully clothed now Angel sat in a chair he'd pulled up to the window, staring out at the rising sun. He loved the little colored dots that blemished his sight when he looked at the sun, the way he was forced to squint, the way the whole world seemed brighter, now that the sunlight was streaming in onto his face.

Buffy had been sleeping in bed, but when she awoke she was awestricken at his beauty. Angel in the sun was even more beautiful than Angel in the dark, who was in fact pretty beautiful. The way the sunlight hit his face, well he really lived up to his name… he looked like an angel. And in a way, he was. He was her angel. He always had been, he always would be. She quickly moved out of bed, walking slowly over to the chair. He hadn't heard her. Which is why he jumped slightly when he felt her arms gently encircle his neck, before she sat down on his lap. He smiled, grabbing a blanket from beside him, pulling it around them both, but more so around her. And the two of them sat, and watched the sunrise, and life, to them, in that moment, had more meaning than it ever had before. They were destined to be together… and they never wanted it to end.


	5. Close To The Flame

Chapter Five.

"What movie is she getting?" Willow's voice asked Angel from the other end of Buffy's telephone. Well, Buffy and Angel's telephone. They were living together now. It had been only a few weeks, but Angel had already moved his few remaining positions into Buffy's humble abode. Buffy had remained faithful, and had decided to help bring Angel up to date on the times, by renting movies.

"I don't know. She didn't say. She just said there was going to be candy."

"It's probably Josie and the Pussycats." At her words Angel paused for a long moment.

"…That's… not a porn movie… right?" Willow started laughing at Angel's question, just as Buffy walked in. "Nevermind. She's home. We can't say bad things about her anymore." Angel joked. Even though he didn't sound sarcastic, Buffy knew he was. She walked over to the couch, and sat down on his lap, her lips close to his, as if she were about to kiss him, but then she didn't.

"Hey, Willow." Buffy greeted. It was amazing that she knew exactly who he was talking to, but she did. She slowly, and gently leaned her head against Angel's. To be closer to him, and to be able to hear the phone better.

"Hi!" Willow squealed cheerfully. She talked to Angel more than she talked to Buffy, so she was always excited when she got to talk to Buffy.

"Sorry, but Angel and I have to go, it's movie time. And I don't want the ice cream to melt."

"Oh!" Angel finally spoke up, "Is it mint fudge chocolate chip?"

"Oh, Honey, there is no other kind of ice cream." Buffy stated, kissing him.

"I'll, um, talk to you guys later…" Willow said awkwardly, having heard the kiss. After hearing the 'Mhhmm' from both people on the other end she hung up, and Angel did too, without breaking the kiss.

-this is when the magic happens, if you catch my drift...-

"I'm too cold for ice cream." Buffy complained. Her now bare body lying on top of Angel on the couch. He opened his eyes, smiling at her. Buffy groaned as Angel slowly moved so she was lying next to him, instead of on top of him. He reached out, his eyes half closed, he was kind of tired now. His hand finally found what he'd been looking for. The soft quilt blanket. He pulled it over himself, and Buffy, and then pulled her closer, so their bodies were pressed together. She smiled. "that's better…" Her eyes were now closed, like Angels. The two slowly fell asleep, Angel softly whispering sweet things into Buffy's hair as they did.

-That was a cute moment, don't you think-

"Angel?" Buffy called nervously as she sat up, finding that her true love was no longer beside her. It was strange that she was almost fearful now when she awoke without Angel by her side, without his comforting embrace holding her close. Today she awoke with only the quilt wrapped around her delicately. That soothed her worry, knowing that Angel had no doubt pulled the blanket up around her, in attempt to keep her warm while he was no longer beside her. She held the blanket around her as she got up off the couch, heading to her room. But she paused, as she heard talking in the kitchen. She knew one of the voices was Angel's, but the other she couldn't put a name to. It was familiar, she knew she'd heard it before, but she didn't know from where she'd heard it. She neared the kitchen, still deep in thought, forgetting all about the fact that she was naked, under the big soft fluffy quilt that she was still holding close to her. From where she stood now she could see Angel on the other side of the kitchen, peering across the way at the other person, a female, which Buffy could not see. Angel's eyes, still keen even though his senses had dulled, soon spotted Buffy.

"You're awake," He cooed, half smiling. Buffy heard footsteps coming towards the entry way to the kitchen, and she soon saw the brunette Slayer, the voice suddenly making clear sense. Faith. As soon as Faith's big brown eyes caught Buffy's she gave a small laugh.

"Nice blanket, B." She half mocked, but in a friendly sort of way. "I don't even need two guesses to find out what you two were doing before I got here." At her words Buffy and Angel both blushed. Angel had soon crossed the small bit of floor, and was now standing beside Buffy. He leaned in and kissed the top of your head. He gently let his fingers graze over the top of her back, where the blanket didn't cover.

"Angel…" Buffy mumbled, slowly moving, pressing herself against him, though not moving her arms, for fear of losing the quilt. His arms soon found their way around her thin waist. She closed her eyes.

"Uh, hello, still standing here? You lust bunnies can grope all you want when I get lost. But right now, I'm here. And I don't want to see any groping." At Faith's words Angel slowly let go, but Buffy, the ever defiant one, still leaned against Angel, clinging to the quilt.

"Why _are_ you here?" Buffy demanded, though her demanded looked silly, coming from a girl so tired she needed to lean against her boyfriend… a girl in a pink and orange quilt.

"Well I came to visit Angel… to see if he was okay. I was worried, y'know. The condition that he left that battle in… he was pretty broken."

"But I'm fine now." Angel stated, trying to assure Faith, and to assure Buffy, who'd forgotten all about the big battle he'd been in. She'd somehow forgotten the scars that laced his body. With her left hand she still clutched the quilt, but her right hand was now gently touching the scar that had formed on his cheek. As soon as her soft fingers touched it he turned his head, so she no longer kept contact with the scar. "_I'm fine now_" He stated, this time pressing it more.Buffy frowned, but both she and Faith nodded.

"Well… I should go get dressed…" Buffy stated tiredly, standing up straight. She then headed into the bedroom, away from the kitchen. Angel and Faith both watched her go, but Angel's eyes were focused on a more… inappropriate place than Faiths were.

"You know what… I'm gunna… go… help her." Angel mumbled, and in an instant he was shutting the door to the bedroom behind himself, not giving Faith a moment to argue. As she heard the door open Buffy had grabbed the quilt she'd discarded, holding it around herself again. "Just me…" Angel whispered, holding his hands up in the air. Buffy hesitated, then dropped the quilt and went back to searching for clothes. Angel sat down on the edge of the bed, not even looking at her now. "The ice cream was all melted, but I put it in the freezer anyway…" Angel stated blandly, staring at the floor.

"You know you can look at me, right? I don't mind… I mean, it's not like you haven't seen it all before…" She informed him, almost awkwardly, as she grabbed her pajamas and began to dress… she planned on getting in bed anyway. "And I'm surprised you didn't eat it all yourself." She turned to look at him, smiling. He smiled too, looking up at her now, his cheeks flushed light pink, just because he felt awkward looking at her when she wasn't fully dressed, for some reason. She was right; he had seen it all before. He knew every inch of her… and yet he still blushed when he looked at her like that.

"I'm no pig. I wouldn't eat it without you. Foods always better when its food shared with you." Buffy gave the classic 'aww my boyfriends so sweet' look as she slowly walked over and sat next to him, kissing his cheek lightly. Angel paused, and then grabbed her shirt, which was lying next to him. He looked down at it for a moment, and then handed it to her. "Did I really tire you out this much, Buffy?" He asked, frowning.

"It wasn't you. Well, I mean, part of it… but I love that part, even if it does make me tired. I think the other part is the whole… pregnant thing. But I love that part too." She grinned as Angel's hand gently slid up her shirt, as he gently caressed her stomach.


	6. Please, Don't Let It Go

Chapter Six

"Still here!" Faith called from the kitchen. Buffy jumped slightly.

"Oops…" Angel cooed, lightly kissing Buffy's neck. No, they hadn't had another roll in the sack. Buffy was tired, and Angel had opted to lay with her a while. Up until they'd heard Faith's voice they'd been under the covers, Angel's arm protectively over Buffy's stomach, both whispering sweet words of how much they love each other, and how they'll never part. But now Angel sat up, crawling over Buffy, and out of bed. He fixed his black attire, trying to get the wrinkles out. "Go to sleep. I'll join you soon." He promised, capturing her lips in a kiss before he walked out of the room, careful not to make a lot of noise as he shut the door.

"You two love birds can't even stop for two minutes can you?" Faith asked, slightly loudly. Angel then shushed her.

"She's tired. She needs to sleep. Talk quieter." He whispered.

"You must have some skill to be able to tire out a Slayer _that_ quickly."

"Well Ye—I mean, we didn't. She's just… tired."

"Oh. So, she's sleeping? At," Faith paused, looking down at her watch. "4:26pm?"  
"Like I said, she's tired. I mean, she'll probably even sleep through till tomorrow."

"Wow. Tired Slayer."

"She's been busy lately… with… things."

"Have you done it yet?"

"Done what?" Angel asked, a quizzical expression falling over his features.

"Asked her?"

"Asked her what?"

"Have you always been this stupid?"

"Maybe…"

"Asked her to marry you, you dumbass." Faith hissed, though still whispering. Angel looked slightly taken back, slowly shaking his head. "Well are you going to soon? I mean, she's having your kid, I think you guys should get married."

"How did you—."

"I could just tell."

"Oh…" There was a long awkward pause after this, before Angel reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box. He opened it, showing Faith the contents. She almost gasped.

"Holy fuck."

"Shh."

"No, really, holy fuck. That thing is… holy fuck."

"Think she'll like it?"

"Holy fuck… I mean… She'd be crazy to say no to a ring _that_ big…" Angel held in a large smile, though it did slightly seep through. The infectious happiness spread quicker than the plague, and his eyes were soon bright and happy, as they often were nowadays. He tucked the ring safely back in his pocket. "When yah gunna do it?" Faith asked curiously, smiling just because Angel seemed so happy. Angel was the closest friend she'd ever had… he never stopped believing in her, and she owed him. He really was an Angel.

"Soon, I guess."

"Buffy's a lucky girl." Faith stated, almost sorrowfully. Angel placed a comforting hand on Faith's shoulder, smiling warmly. As if reading her mind, and her thoughts of never finding someone to spend the rest of her life with, he spoke softly, almost cooing, beautifully.

"You'll find someone." He assured her.

"Not like you." Faith responded, her tone half full of melancholy, half longing.

"Maybe someone better than me. There are a lot of guys out there like that."

"Yeah, I wish." Faith let out a small laugh. "Well, I should hit the road. See yah, Angie." Faith waved slightly, heading for the door.

"Come back anytime, Faith."

"Oh trust me, I will." Faith stated before disappearing out the door. Angel stayed still only a moment before walking back into the bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers, and climbed gently into bed, beside a snoring Buffy, carefully pulling her into his embrace. _Soon._


	7. Love You Like I Do

Authors note: For some reason, reading this over, the mood feels depressing to me. I just can't make it as upbeat as I want it to be. Fleh. Oh well, I guess I was feeling down when I wrote it. The internets shut off, and its about 1:28, so… deal with it? If it doesn't seem as happy as it should be, just pretend its all happy...

Weeks flew by so quickly as the couple simply basked in happiness. There were so many 'Kodak moments', not caught by film, but by their memories. Those times were so wonderful; they'd stay with the two of them until the end of their days. The hours they spent on the beach in the sunlight, the nights they spent in bed, or out walking hand in hand on the pier, or the time they went sailing and watched the stars in the sky while drifting serenely in their little boat. Buffy still looked skinny, although her stomach had rounded out a bit. It had only been about three weeks. She often bitched about 'morning sickness' and how it lasted all day long. Angel hardly ever left her side. When she was sick, he'd hold her hair back for her, pat her back, do anything he could to help her feel better. He'd find some way to meet her every request. He cooked dinner every night for her. He got up at four in the morning to get her ice cream, or a cookie, he even bent the 'no eating in bed' rule. Every night they'd fall asleep in each others arms, exhausted for their own reasons. Every morning they'd wake up and face the day, doing whatever it was they felt like doing. They lived in a perfect world, where nothing could go wrong. The sun shone brightly for them, and the moon and stars were even more elegant now that everything was coming together. Soon crept up so quickly on Angel. _I'll be home soon_, he'd told her only a few hours before. He just needed to be alone with himself for a little while. It wasn't that he didn't love every second that he spent with her, because he did, he normally never wanted to leave her side. But he needed to think. He needed to talk everything over with himself.

The moon sent rays of lights in some areas, but cast shadows in others. Angel's solitary steps tainted the calm night air, and broke the silence like shattering glass. The stars spotted the night sky, speckling the blue, perfectly complimenting it. He could relate to the sky in that way, Buffy was the stars, and she complimented him perfectly. She was the thing that added beauty to his bland sky. Without her the world was harsh and cold. But now that he had her, the warmth was amazing. He was nervous. He'd never had it so good. He was afraid of losing it all. He was afraid something would go wrong. But what could go wrong? His fingers fiddled with the velvet box in his pocket. Tomorrow was the day. Tomorrow was the soon he'd been waiting for. It was time. He was sure of it.

His fingers treaded over the cool copper of the doorknob, almost stinging the pale flesh of his hands. He didn't even get to turn it before the door flung open, and he saw the stars, he saw his star, his sun, his world, his universe, smiling up at him. He knew what she was thinking. He was thinking it too. They could read it in each others eyes. _Even just two hours was too long to spend apart._ He silently apologized for his absence while he entered, and she shut the door behind him. "Are you hungry?" His voice sounded different now, it was happier, more upbeat, but still soft spoken, kind, even warmer now. She gave a nod to his words, her eyes on their hands, as his fingers gently intertwined with hers. He lifted both their hands to his mouth, and tenderly kissed hers, before leading her to the kitchen. He helped her up onto the counter, and let go of her hand. His palms rested on the cool granite counter on either side of her legs, staring her right in the eye, smiling. "What do you want me to make you?" Came his second question. He could see her start to think it over. It was one of the many things he loved about her, the way her features changed when she was thinking.

"Ramen." Buffy finally answered. Angel nodded, a half smile playing at his lips. He kissed her quickly, before standing up straight, his palms leaving the counter. She watched him as he began to make her the meal. "Oh, and Angel," Buffy began, Angel finished setting the timer before he turned to Buffy, who continued once he was looking at her. Her expression was a slightly puzzled one. "Willow called. She said to tell you that, uhm, everything was set, or something."

"Great." Angel held in a sigh of relief. "That's great."

"What did she mean?"

"Interweb stuff…" Angel lied. He was a pretty good liar now.

"Internet." Buffy corrected.

"Same thing." Angel half pouted at her, before smiling again. Smiling, he loved smiling. He just couldn't stop doing it. Buffy was smiling too. Something about smiling, it was just so infectious. It spread like the plague, except the happy plague, instead of the ewdeathohmygawd plague…( Yeah…) The timer beeped, and Angel jumped slightly, snapping out of whatever day dreaming daze he'd fallen into. He fixed her ramen in a nice olive green bowl, and set it at the table with a fork. He helped her off the counter. The two of them sat side by side. Buffy's free hand was gently clinging to Angels. No words were exchanged, they weren't even looking at each other, and they were looking down at the oak table. They'd transcended the stage of stealing looks, and they no longer needed to speak to hear each other. It didn't take long for Buffy to finish her food. Soon after she'd finished the two of them had moved to the television room. Angel had taken off his jacket, and Buffy had changed into her pajamas, figuring she'd fall asleep pretty soon, she normally did. They sat on the off white couch, well Angel sat, Buffy lay over him, her head on the arm of the couch, part of her abdomen and her butt over Angel's lap, her legs spread over the couch cushions, a blanket over her. Angel watched her, as she watched television. A rebellious strand of blonde hair fell in Buffy's face. It didn't take long for Angel's gentle fingers to put it back behind her ear. After that he let his thumb gently caress her smooth cheek, while his other hand lay idly over her stomach. "I love you," He murmured. Her green eyes drifted from the television and caught his thoughtful brown ones. They shared a classic after-school special look, smiling at each other, silent a moment before her reply came,

"I love you too." They both let out content sighs before she turned back to the television. His mind went over what he was going to do tomorrow as he watched her drift off to sleep. He soon followed her, falling asleep sitting up, her body still lying over his.


	8. I Love You

Today was the day. Today soon arrived, sneaking up on sleeping Angel so quickly. He wouldn't have woken up had it not been for Willow, who called his cell phone. He'd luckily put it on vibrate and somehow got off the couch without moving Buffy too much. She was still sound asleep. It was perfect. "She's sleeping." He informed Willow in a hushed voice, speaking into his cell phone, standing in the kitchen. "What should I say on the note?"

"Just say that you went out, and that you'll be back later."

"What if she gets worried?"

"Angel, just do it. Don't worry."

"Alright. Fine." He scribbled down what Willow had told him to onto a note, and put it on the refrigerator door. After that he and Willow said their goodbyes. He went into the bedroom, and stripped. After that he grabbed new clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. He came out about a half hour later, hearing Buffy still snoring on the couch. He smiled. Normally he would've gone to watch her sleep, or to hold her. But not today. He had to leave today; he didn't have time for the trivial things. Not yet. Once fully dressed he was on his way out. But he couldn't leave without seeing her face. So he walked into the television room, smiling down at her sleeping face. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then he was gone. He shut the door to the home quietly behind himself, silently saying 'goodbye' and 'I love you' to her.

The day went by so slowly. He quickly took care of his chores. He bought everything, and made sure all the reservations were perfect. He went to the store, and made sure he'd already had everything. He was prepared, maybe even over prepared. It was so extravagant and unneeded, but she was worth it. She was his whole world, and she was so worth it, she was worth more than everything he had to offer. A goddess among the normal people. A goddess in love with him, a monster. Well, ex monster. Even still, the irony of life showed through. He had to look back at it all and smile. He never thought this day would come. He never thought he'd get a chance to be with her. Up until he saw Willow in the hotel he'd been hopeful, but after that day, even after finding out she was alive again, he'd lost hope. But now here she was, and here was this day. And here was the irony of life, yet again. The sunlight beat down on his face as he walked along the sidewalk, partly window shopping, partly trying to keep himself from having a nervous breakdown. These butterflies in his stomach now were worse than he ones he got when he arrived at Buffy's door that day not so very long ago. These butterflies were vicious man eating flesh devouring things that held no beauty, and threaten to eat Angel's every word, and his every last ounce of courage. Stupid butterflies, he wished they'd just go away. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. He was horrified. No, he was so far beyond horrified. So far beyond it, in fact, that he was actually calm now. He'd past the stage of intense fear and nausea, and now he was just biding his time before night fell.

As the sun smoothly drifted from the sky, and the colors that it had ignited in the clouds faded, Angel reached home. His heart racing, but his appearance was calm. This is the longest he'd been away from her since he'd moved in, he noted solemnly. He never wanted to leave her side again. To say he missed her, would be far from true, because he did so much more than just miss her, he ached for her in every way possible. It was apparent that she was the same way, because she didn't even give him a chance to get to the door before she ran outside. She nearly tackled him to the ground with the force and impact of her strong hug. He returned the embrace for a long moment, hating himself for pulling out of it, but knowing that he had to. Today was soon. Soon was now. Soon couldn't be delayed. "Do you trust me?" He asked her quietly, smoothly, lovingly. She nodded vigorously.

"Yes, of course." She noted the smile on his lips, and the movements of his hand. She then gave a perplexed look at the blindfold he pulled out. "D-do you want to be kinky or something?" She asked awkwardly, her hands on her hips cutely. He grinned.

"No, gutter mind. I just want to surprise you. So will you let me blindfold you?" It took her only a moments thought before she answered.

"Yeah, sure." She shrugged. He then carefully tied the blindfold around her, covering her eyes. He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Can you see?" He asked.

"I'm blindfolded." She replied wryly.

"Ah, good point. Let's go." And with that he picked her up over his shoulder. She gave a delightful squeal as he carried her to the car. Their car didn't get much use, due to Angel's habit of suggesting that they walk everywhere. But today they were going to use the car. He helped her into it, to ensure that she didn't bump her head or anything. He shut the door for her, extra careful not to hit her with it by accident. He acted as though she was a fragile doll, when in truth she could take a beating from a powerful demon and be okay. She liked how fragile he was. It made her feel like a real girl. A real normal girl, with her real normal boyfriend. It was what she'd always wanted. She heard him get in the drivers side. She heard him shut the door and start the car. She felt him lean over and kiss the side of her head before she felt him start to drive. Her fingers treaded along the dashboard as she searched for the radio. She soon felt Angel's hand help her own to find it. Once she knew where it was she pressed the play button, the CD player turning on, playing Barry Manilow. She knew Angel was a fan, so she'd bought his CD to try and like him. And it had worked. She too was now a Barry Manilow Fan. Just like me, the writer. But now, back on track. She didn't know how long they'd been driving. She'd held in the question until the CD finished for the second time.

"Angel, where are we going?" She finally asked.

"Someplace nice." He stated vaguely, always mister cryptic. She decided not to press the question ant further and just sat back to enjoy the ride. But as soon as she did that she felt the car stop. She heard Angel get out. She heard her door open, and she felt Angel help her out of the car. She stretched her stiff legs only a moment before Angel took hold of her hand and began carefully leading her somewhere. They walked for about five minutes, and then Angel sat her down. He kneeled behind her and carefully untied the blindfold, letting it fall away, leaving Buffy to gape in astonishment at her new surroundings. It was beautiful. Breathtaking, literally, that's how magnificent this place was. Buffy found herself sitting on a picnic blanket the middle of a field of flowers. There were flowers of every kind, all growing so closely, the colors all blending into one beautiful piece of artwork. Real live art work, living, thriving. This scene was even more beautiful while illuminated by the moon and the stars, under the blanket of navy blue sky that ran so high above them. She leaned back into Angel's body, and his arms wrapped around her waist. He placed a series of soft kisses into her golden hair.

"Angel," She finally found the words to speak, her voice shaky. He knew the real surprise was yet to come, and he wondered if she'd react like this, so astonished, and cute too. "This place is- how did you find—its amazing."

"I know." He replied. "I found it on my way here, when I was walking from the plane station. I passed by it, and I thought it was beautiful. The beauty it- it reminded me of you." He spoke in a soft whisper, unable to raise his voice to the normal level and break the mystic majesty of this place, of this time. "Are you hungry?" The question seemed random, though he'd had it all planned out. She nodded. He knew she would. He had been counting on it. He reached into the flowers, and pulled out a picnic basket, one of his chores earlier had been to place it there. He opened it, and he could almost hear Buffy's stomach growling at the mere sight of the great meal Angel had prepared. Wine, an assortment of fruits, pre-made spagettios(This is for Kim!) in thermoses. And last but not least, some delicious looking brownies.

They ate, and laughed, and soaked in the scenery, and enjoyed themselves to no extent. As dessert finished Buffy was so caught up in the scenery, she didn't catch Angel's big move, as he got on one knee. But her eyes widened as she noticed only a second or two after he'd done it. She put her glass down gently, staring at Angel in dismay, her mind racing. But the racing stopped as he saw the ring. Her mind blanked. By instinct she wanted to run, to run from this nervous feeling, to wait for it to pass. But she knew it was a good nervous. She knew to stay. "Buffy," Angel began, and Buffy's eyes shifted from the GINORMOUS ring to Angel's face, looking him in the eyes. They both smiled contently. "I love you. I mean, even before I met you, I loved you. It doesn't seem possible, but I know deep down that my life was meant to be spent with you. You're my reason for being here in this world. You're my reason for existing. I've known that forever, deep down. I don't want to ever leave your side. My heart belongs to you. It belonged to you even when it was cold and unbeating. You make me real, and alive. And I—Will you marry me?" He asked. He noticed Buffy's lip tremble, and the tears gather in her eyes. She threw her arms around him, this time she did succeed in knocking him over with the force of her hug.

"Yes!" She squealed. "God, yes!" Angel let out a long sigh, breathing out all the nervousness that had accumulated. He gently smoothed away the happy tears that Buffy had shed, before placing the ring on her finger, and entwining his fingers with hers. They both sat up, and Angel pulled Buffy onto his lap. She cried tears of happiness onto Angels shoulder, and he gently stroked her back. And they knew. They knew they were meant to be together, and that nothing would ever change that. They knew this was the beginning of their lives. They knew that it was, because they knew that their lives had been empty, until now, now that they were going to share their lives with eachother.

And Buffy had one thought on her mind: _This is better than heaven._


	9. Join Me

Both Buffy and Angel wished the night would never end. They lay on the blanket now, staring up at the stars, holding tightly to each other, so close to each other, so happy. He felt her shiver, and sat up, taking off his knee length jacket, and putting it over her, glad he'd worn long sleeves. They lay like that, sometimes sharing words of love and devotion, other times speaking of their past, sometimes of their future, but most of the time was spent basking in the comfortable silence. They fell asleep in each others arms, smiling wider than either of them ever had. The rest of the world, all the perils they'd faced, the drama that had held their lives for so long, it was all forgotten. They were together, the way they were meant to be. But this tale is far from over.

Angel awoke the next morning, the bright sun above them, shining down on the beautiful setting around them. Buffy had once told him she didn't look very good in the light, but as he gazed down at her now, he knew she couldn't have been more wrong with that. She was the vision of beauty. Angel hadn't even known true beauty until that moment, when he looked down at the girl in his arms, the girl with her arms around him, the sun shining down on her, her hair tussled, his coat lying over her. He wondered how he got so lucky, to love someone so beautiful and kind, and be loved by them in return. What did he do to deserve her? She was the light of his life. The sun wasn't that thing in the sky to Angel, the sun was Buffy. His thumb gently caressed her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened, to gaze up at Angel as he stared down at her. "Oh, is my hair messed up?" She asked, assuming that was why he was staring. He shook his head, a stupid and goofy grin on his lips.

"No, you look perfect." He whispered, as if it was a secret. "Absolutely beautiful." Her cheeks flushed light pink and she buried her face in his chest. His grin widened. "Okay, as much as I hate to say it, I think its time we got up. We can go out to breakfast." Buffy groaned in protest, not wanting to leave—or even move. She liked this place. She wanted them to stay there forever, in each others arms. She lifted her head from his chest to look him in the eyes—oh his eyes, they made her stomach do flip-flops, they were, aside from his smile, her favorite thing about him.

"No," She whined, "I don't want to go. I'm not hungry." She lied. Her lie was given away by her stomach, which growled loudly. Angel gave a small laugh, starting to sit up, causing her to sit up as well, because she refused to take her arms off him, and he still had his around her as well. "Are you going to carry me again?" Buffy asked with a childish excitement. Angel stood, and picked her up, all in one motion. She squealed, grinning widely. "Yay." He smiled, and began to carry her to the car, leaving the picnic things behind. He'd get them later. And even if he didn't, it wouldn't be bad at all, because carrying her, and making her happy, was worth more than a blanket, a basket, and some plates and things. They arrived at the car, although Buffy wasn't aware. She'd fallen back to sleep in Angels arms. It made it hard for him to get her into the car, but somehow he managed. They had one of those cars with the middle seat in the front, which is where he put her. He got in the drivers seat as Buffy stirred. She didn't move much, but she did rest her head on his shoulder, and she did move her arms around him. He smiled, and started the car. The sweet sound of Barry Manilow seeped from the speakers in the car, over powering the sound of Buffy's soft snoring. Angel drove for about an hour before he finally pulled into the parking lot of a quant little diner. He sat in the parked car, sleeping Buffy still snoring, and her arms still around him. He moved his arms around her, and held her for a few minutes, before he gently shook her, to wake her up.

"Buffy." He whispered her name. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Morning, sunshine." He cooed, lightly kissing her forehead. She smiled, raking her fingers through her hair, untangling the tangles that had formed. "We're at the diner, but if you're tired I can let you sl—."

"No, I'm hungry." She slowly let go of him, and he did the same. She sat up on her own, stretching as best she could while inside the car. She gave a small yawn, before starting to get out of the car. Apparently Angel had gotten out of the car while she was stretching, or something, because he was already standing by her door, opening it for her, taking her hand as she got out. The two of them, hand in hand, walked into the diner. They sat at a table across from each other, their fingers entwined under the table, staring into each others eyes, so lost in each other that they didn't even notice the waitress when she walked up to their table.

"What can I can for you two?" The woman asked. She sneered at the couple when they didn't notice her. "Hello? Anybody home?" She asked, waving her hand in front of them both, bringing them out of the lovely world they'd fallen into, the world that they were the only people in.

"What?" Both Buffy and Angel said at the same time looking at the waitress.

"What can I get for you two?"

"Waffles!" Buffy said, over excited. "And orange juice. Please."

"I'll have the same, thanks." Angel was much less enthused than Buffy. It didn't take long for them to get what they'd ordered. Angel, who wasn't that hungry, only had one waffle, while Buffy ate the two that had been given to her, and half of the one Angel hadn't eaten. "Are you going to snore on the way home too?" Angel asked playfully, sipping the coffee he'd bought, looking across the table at Buffy, who leaned over and gently hit him on the shoulder.

"I don't snore." She retorted.

"Yes you do. I could hardly hear the music over your snoring."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying, you snore."

"Well you do too!"

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. I sleep next to you, I would know."

"How can you hear me over your own snoring?" Now while someone may think they were having a fight, they really weren't. Fighting, it was something they so rarely did. This was simply a playful little conversation that would normally lead to kissing, except they were interrupted before it led to that, by the check being placed down on their table. Angel grabbed the check, nervous as to what the cost would be, he hated spending money… he was just an old man who remembered when everything had been so much cheaper. But he was getting use to it. This check wasn't so bad. He paid it, but they didn't leave yet. They decided to stay until they finished their coffees. Once they were finished they started to get up, and Angel nearly bumped into a young blonde woman. "I'm sorr,"

"Angel?" The girl cut him off.

"Nina?" His voice cracked.


	10. Bury Me Deep Inside Your Heart

"Angel!" Nina threw her arms around Angel's neck. Angel just blinked, his body stiffened, but Nina didn't notice his obvious discontent. Buffy gave a jealous look, glaring daggers at Nina. If looks could kill, Nina would be six feet under. And when Nina's lips pressed against Angel's, Buffy was gone too fast to see Angel pulling away almost as soon as Nina had kissed him. He pulled away from her lips, and her arms, stepping away, making sure she stayed at least six inches away from him, and his lips. And Nina still didn't notice. "Angel, when you didn't call I-I thought you died!"

"Yeah… about that—I meant to call… but I—got busy. Sorry…"

"It's alright. I'm just glad you're alive! Oh, Angel." She moved in to kiss him again, but he stepped away. She stumbled a little; she hadn't been expecting him to move. "Angel?" She gave him a look. "What's wrong?"

"Did you see that girl? The one that I was with?" Angel asked looking down at Nina, who gave a small nod. "That was Buffy. I told you about Buffy, didn't I?" Nina gave another nod, realization flushing over her features.

"Oh-I-Are you _with_ her?" Nina asked, her eyes now on her feet. But she caught Angel's nod. "I'm so sorry—I didn't—I didn't even think. I'm sorry. A-Are you happy with her?"

"As happy as can be."

"What are you waiting for?" Nina suddenly asked, looking up at him.

"Huh?" Angel gave a dumbfounded look down at Nina.

"Why are you still here? Go after her, stupid!"

"Oh! Right." He leaned in quickly, kissing Nina on the cheek, before he walked out. Nina's hand touched her cheeks, where his lips had touched. She let out a small sigh.

"I'm never gunna find another guy quite like him…" She stated solemnly to herself. A waitress, who had been watching the scene, patted Nina's back comfortingly.

"Buffy! Buffy wait up!" Angel called; jogging after Buffy, who had gotten to the car, realized she still couldn't drive, and was now walking towards home. She didn't wait, even though she heard Angel. But he caught up quickly enough anyway. He walked beside her now. "You left without me." Angel stated quietly, looking at her.

"Why aren't you with _Nina_?" Her voice was like venom, stinging Angel's ears. He snatched her hand in his. She tried to pull it back, but he didn't let her.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" He inquired, though it was more of a statement. Buffy gave him a quizzical look, before she realized his meaning. Was this how he felt? This tearing feeling in her heart, had he felt that when he saw her with The Immortal. "Well I'm willing to bet it hurts even more when the kiss lasts longer than a second."

"A second?"

"You didn't stick around long enough to see me pull away from her. Buffy, if I wanted to be with Nina, I would've called her, instead of flying all the way here to be with you."

"Oh." Buffy suddenly felt stupid. Why had she ever doubted Angel's love for her? She was just being dumb, thinking that he might have feelings for someone else, when she could tell just by looking into his eyes that she was the only one in his heart. She stopped walking, and let go of his hand. He stopped beside her, staring down at her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "I'm so sorry." She muttered, her voice muffled by his chest. He smiled, pulling out of her embrace, cupping her cheeks in his hands, staring down into her eyes.

"Don't be." He whispered. "I love you."

"I love you." Buffy replied, her hands over his. He leaned in and kissed her. They stayed like that for a long while, before they had to pull away, to breathe.

"Let's go home." He suggested, Buffy nodded. She wrapped her arms around his waist again, and they walked back towards the car. Once in the car they got in the same position they'd been in before they'd stopped for breakfast. Angel reached for the radio, to turn Barry Manilow back on. But Buffy's hand caught his.

"We listened to what you wanted to on the way; we get to listen to what I want to now." She grinned. Angel gave a fearful look, afraid it might be something really loud—or Britney Spears. She turned on The Cure. Angel gave a relieved sigh as he started the drive back to their home.

They reached home, smiling brightly, happy as ever. But their smiles faded as they walked inside, only to find the home in shambles. Angel deducted, after going through everything, that nothing was missing. But Buffy didn't hear him. She was staring down, horrified, at a small note that she now held in her hand. Angel slowly walked up next to her. As soon as he put his hand on her shoulder, she'd turned around and hugged him tightly. He hugged back, holding her, as she slowly began to cry.


	11. Right Here In My Arms

Authors note: Oh man. I'm sorry it took me a while to update. A lots been going on and this fanfiction was kind of neglected. It might seem rushed—mostly because it is. I'm trying to get this one over and done with, so that I can focus on my newer one that I've just started writing. I think its gunna be better than this one. Longer chapters, better quality, all that jazz.

Thanks to everyone for reviewing. Keep it up because it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside J

"Can this really happen?" Buffy asked, her voice nearly inaudible, as sobs shook her body. Angel's strong arms were the only thing keeping her from falling. Just his presence comforted her, and she was grateful for that comfort. "I'm dreaming." She stated suddenly. "And soon I'm going to wake up in that field in your arms. This is all just a dream—no a nightmare. This is a nightmare. Please wake me up, Angel. Please." She begged. The helpless tone of her voice broke his heart. He wanted to tell her it really was a dream, and that she'd wake up soon. He wanted to tell her that she'd wake up in his arms, and he'd be able to tell her everything was alright. But he couldn't bring himself to lie to her. So he didn't speak at all. He let his hands stroke her back and hair, and he let her cry on his shoulder. He kept his eyes alert, incase the one who'd done this to their home was still here, but he doubted they were.

"We should leave." Angel stated suddenly. Buffy forced herself to look up at him. He was smiling. "Come on. We can gather a few things, and then just go. We can stay at a hotel. A nice hotel, with a pool, and an ice skating rink near by. You like ice skating, I remember. It'll be great. We can get room service in the morning so we don't have to even leave bed. And I'll make sure the pool is heated, and we can swim at night. And during the day you can teach me to ice skate. It'll be wonderful, so let's go." She couldn't help but smile with him. The ridiculousness of the whole thing struck her heart, and she was in awe of him, and how much he'd give for her. She knew in that moment that anything she wanted he would get for her, even if he had to die trying to get it. "Come on. Let's just get out of here." He finally finished. She held tighter to him, the tears coming again, though this time they were less tears of despair, and more just tears because she loved him so much. And he was crying too, now. Not loudly like her, but salty tears streaked down his cheeks. She noted that the smile was struggling to stay on his lips; she knew it was for her. He didn't want to worry her, but his dumbly smiling state was worrying her more than she already was. She gave a small nod.

"Okay. Yeah. Let's go." She nodded again. She dropped the note. It fell like a feather, floating so elegantly for something so evil. The picture that had forced Buffy to tears fell from it, a picture of her mother. Not just any picture of her mother, though, it was the picture Ted had taken to his work place, the one with her in it… but she wasn't in it before. The person who'd done this had blocked Buffy's face out of it in drippy red paint that looked like blood. The note had read, in the same red paint, "No one leaves me, lover." Before she had a chance to look down, or to even think about it again, Angel had latched his hand around hers, and was leading her to the bedroom, so they could gather up their most important belongings, before looking for a hotel. Angel did most of the packing, gathering her clothes, the ones that were her favorites… and a few of his own favorites. Two bags were hers, and one was his. He looked over at her where she was sitting on the bed, looking utterly helpless and alone, like a lost child in a mall. He wanted to help her more, he wanted to hold her and steal all the pain away. He'd rather be the one to carry the pain. It made him feel horrible, just seeing her like this. As he walked over to her she stood, thinking he was coming over to get her so they could leave, but she soon found she was wrong, as his lips roughly pressed against hers, his hands on her hips. She was caught off guard, but as soon as she'd realized what was happening she put her arms around his neck. Neither one of them was willing to pull away… until Buffy did.

"Stop, stop." She begged as Angel had moved on to kissing her neck. He obeyed, his eyes staring at the floor now, unable to bring himself to look at her and not kiss her in that moment. "Jesus, what am I saying? God, Angel, please don't stop." She put her arms back around his neck, crushing her lips against his. They stayed like that for a long while, Buffy pouring every ounce of pain into that one passionate kiss. Some how Angel had known it would help, just kissing. It seemed like the best therapy for her at that moment, and it was helping. So they stayed like that, not getting in bed, or undressing, not lustful kissing, not filled with the fiery heat, but passion, loving, and tender passion. He took the world away for her. In his arms, so close to him, she felt safe, like nothing could ever touch her here. Sometimes she wanted to live here in his arms. The kiss ended, leaving both of them breathless. Buffy's forehead softly rested in the nape of his neck, as they both breathed deeply for a long moment. "Time to go." He finally murmured in a breathy voice.


	12. Circle Of Fear

Authors note: I've been awake for over two days, and off a few medications, so bare with me. My intellectual level right now is like… "RARARARARA I EAT YOUR FACE" but I'm hell-bent on finishing this fanfiction. That's right. I'm ending it soon. I'm gunna write a few more chapters. And then I'm going to take a break from fanfictions, before posting my new one that I've got a few chapters done on. Sooo… RARARARARA I EAT YOUR FACE. :shifty eyes:

Anyway, enjoy...

Angel stayed true to his word. He found then a nice snazzy hotel with an extremely comfortable king sized bed, a quant little living room, a small kitchen/dining area, and a heated pool only 60 steps and an elevator ride away. And oh how Buffy loved that elevator. Why, when she and Angel weren't in bed, or lounging around the pool area, she was dragging him on rides up and down the elevator. Not that he minded much, he loved seeing her smile, that look of excitement on her face brightened his whole world. And then there was that one time that they almost did it in the elevator. That brightened his world too. And the priceless look on that business mans face when the elevator door opened to Buffy unbuttoning Angel's pants, and then quickly buttoning them again. Sometimes at night he'd think of that guys face, and just have to laugh. There was an ice skating rink close to the hotel, not even five minutes away when walking. Angel promised they'd go, but between swimming and the comfortable bed, they just hadn't found time yet. They'd nearly forgotten about The Immortal's threat. I mean, now that they were in Los Angeles, there wasn't much cause for worry, right? Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the hotel Angel brought them to was in Los Angeles? Yup. Though it sometimes hurt that he was back in Los Angeles, and all the memories of his fallen friends—of the heroes that he walked among for so long—he was glad to be home. He was even in the process of buying back the Hyperion hotel, so he and Buffy could set up home there.

But there was one thing that he dreaded most in Los Angeles. The scariest notion. But it was unavoidable. Buffy would force him into it. Not like it would be hard. She'd just have to pout, and he'd be pudding, or jelly, or play dough, or something else like that. Angel knew that he was about to meet his greatest challenge yet. That everything he'd been through didn't matter. That right around the corner was the scariest thing ever, and he was going to have to face it.

He was going to have to meet Buffy's Father. (Uh, insert "DUM DUM DUM" here.)

Today, too. He was afraid of what Hank would do. See it was fairly plain to see now that Buffy was pregnant. The hump on her stomach kept growing. And Hank would know that Angel had done that… before he married his daughter. See, having sex with someone's kid, that's not something the parent is suppose to find out. It's suppose to be something kept between the two people who did it, at least until they were married. But no, it was obvious that they had made love, and Hank would no doubt notice. Angel just prayed that Hank didn't own weapons.

"How's my hair?" Angel asked nervously, redoing his hair for the like forth time. Buffy sighed loudly, walking up slowly behind Angel, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"Angel, honey, you look perfect." She drawled for the like fifth time, resting her head on his back. "Stop being so stressed out over this. He's going to love you. And if he doesn't—well then screw him. 'Cause I love you, and that's what matters, not what he thinks."

"I love you too—but, he's your father, so I really want him to like me…" Angel confessed, turning around in her arms. Her head now rested on his chest, and he gently let his forehead rest on the crown of her head. She ran her fingers up his back, into his hair, playing with it a little.

"He's not going to care how your hair looks, Angel. And he'll like you if I tell him to like you." She smiled against Angel's chest, and he could help but smile as well. "And I don't like it when you spend more time in the bathroom than me." She murmured, closing her eyes. He let out a small chuckle.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, planting a few soft kisses in her hair.

"Yeah yeah." She said, grinning, pulling away from him. "Now get out so I can get ready."

"Mhm," He murmured, kissing her quickly before walking out of the bathroom. She shut the door behind him. And then she broke, her nervousness taking control. She slid down the bathroom wall and sat on the floor, taking in a few deep breaths, fighting to regain her composure, her hands on her stomach. How long had it been since she'd last seen her father? Well, a long time. A long long long time. Thinking of her father, it made her think of her old life. The life she had before Slaying, before Sunnydale… before Angel. She'd been such a horrible and naive person. Back then life was nothing more than… hair make-up and boys. She was so shallow. She wondered for a moment, had she really changed at all? She nodded to herself. Yes. She had changed so much. She was deep now. Life was so much more than that. She remembered how upset she'd been so long ago. How badly she wanted to have a normal life again… She got her normal life. This, what she had now, with Angel, it's what she always wanted. She wouldn't trade it away for anything. What she had now, it was true happiness. And she hoped her father would see that.

She sighed again, slowly standing up, raking her fingers through her hair, before placing her hands over her stomach.

And then she smiled.


	13. Beauty and Splendor Torn

Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, my computer is being really crappy, 'cause apparently I ran out of space. I've been having a lot of trouble with it, and it kept deleting my chapters. So, sorry that its so short, but I don't have a lot of time before I have to go, and I just wanted to get this out finally. I'll try and update quickly. This place keeps not letting me log in, because of my computer, I think, so I'll just try to get out the next chapter as soon as I'm able to. On another note, since I've only got a good few chapters left, I'm going to start using lines from HIM songs, instead of titles. Not that anyone cares, I just thought I'd let you all know (:

"I love elevators!" Buffy squealed as she walked out of the elevator, both her arms around Angel's waist, her head resting on his shoulder. One of his arms was around her waist. She was trying to keep him from being nervous. But it wasn't working, she could tell by his shaking. She kissed his shoulder, frowning. "Angel, he'll love you, don't worry." Angel gave a frail smile in her direction, before his eyes shifted down. Buffy sighed, giving up. Angel was the perfect gentleman even in his nervous state. He opened every door for Buffy, and helped her into the car.

The drive was fairly short, and quiet. Well, no, it wasn't quiet, Buffy babbled the whole time about her old life, before the Slayer, when her parents were together, and Angel tried his hardest to listen to every word, but he kept spacing out. He didn't like hearing about how she'd been one of the most popular girls in her school, the Cordelia of her high school, and how she was sought after by most of the guys in school. But they arrived at Buffy's father's home, and she shut up. Angel, still the gentleman, helped her out of the car. She held his hand as the two of them walked up to the door. It felt strange, Buffy thought, knocking on her father's door, a door that had once opened up to her home. Buffy pondered for a moment; did she even have a home now? She was just staying in that hotel with Angel, was that her home? After a moments thought she decided, home was where Angel was. Home was safe in Angel's arms. At that thought, she moved her arms around him in tight hug, just as her father opened the door. Hank Summers looked at the couple for a long moment. Without a word he stepped aside, letting the couple enter. As they entered, Buffy detached herself from Angel to hug her father. The hug was short, lasting only a few seconds. As soon as it ended Buffy had latched herself around Angel again. Hank's eyes scanned Angel a moment, before he held out his hand. Angel shook Hank's hand, and then the two of them smiled, as if they had some strange agreement. "Nice firm handshake you got there." Hank said, the first words spoken since Buffy had shut up after the car ride. It shattered the awkwardness, for the moment, at least. As if having a firm handshake had made Buffy's father instantly approve of Angel. Buffy didn't understand it, but she was thankful for it. Hank's eyes suddenly shifted to Buffy. She couldn't help but feel like the girl she'd been before, before Slaying, before Angel, before her life really began. "How've you been, princess?" Hank inquired, the two hugged again.

"Great." Buffy replied, glancing at Angel, and then looking back at her father. "Really, really great."


	14. Big City Blues

"So, Angel," Hank broke the brand new awkward silence that had set in since they'd sat down on the couch. "Are you still CEO of Wolfram and Hart?" He inquired. Angel made a strange face, as if he was eating a lemon.   
"Uh,"  
"You were on all the covers of all my favorite business magazines."  
"Angel was on business magazines?" Buffy asked, looking at Angel.  
"I can't wait to tell my friends that my soon-to-be son-in-law was CEO Wolfram and Hart."  
"You were on business magazines?" Buffy stared at Angel, sitting so closely to him on the couch. Hank sat across from them in a chair.   
"The guys at work will be so jealous."  
"What business magazines?" Buffy asked, still looking quite confused. Angel coughed. Both Buffy and her father stopped talking, just staring at him.  
"I don't own Wolfram and Hart anymore. The building—fell down."  
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Hank nodded. "Hey, could you sign this magazine," Hank asked, pulling out a magazine, handing it to Angel, with a pen. "My friend, Jim, would love it if I gave it to him for his birthday." Angel seemed a little uncomfortable, shifting a little in his seat. Buffy stared down at the picture, and then started giggling. Angel's eyes shifted to her.  
"What?" He asked. She tried to stifle her giggling, but it didn't work out, so she talked through her giggles.  
"Y-you, and your…broody face." She teased, burying her face in his shoulder as she continued to giggle. Angel scowled, quickly signing the magazine and handing it back to Hank.  
"I'm a bit concerned," Hank began, eyeing Angel once. "About you being a vampire." Buffy's manic giggling changed to coughing, as if her father knowing about vampires had caused her to choke, and then she was just silent. Angel stared at Hank with wide eyes, as if Hank had four heads. "Oh don't act so surprised, all the magazines talked about it."  
"Wh-well I-I'm not anymore…" Angel said, slowly. "There was a prophecy that s-well I—I'm just not anymore. I'm human now."  
"So, you read that he was a vampire, and you're totally cool and believing it?" Buffy suddenly spoke up, harshness entering her tone. "Why weren't you that believing when I told you vampires were real?" She asked, this time the harshness took over her tone. "You sent me to an asylum, you thought I was crazy! But these magazines say Angel's a vampire and you're totally believing it! Wh—." She trailed off suddenly, her eyes shifting down to her lap, where her hands were, where one of Angel's hands was now covering both of hers. A simple gesture to help her calm down, to show her he was there. She gently leaned into him, frowning. "Why were you so quick to believe the media, and not your own daughter?" She finished in a low tone, not taking her eyes of her lap, and her hands covered by Angel's hand. She laced her fingers with his, and he kissed the side of her head gently.  
"Buffy," Hank was staring at his shoes now. He seemed ashamed. "When you told your mother and I… What were we suppose to think, Buffy? I mean, at first we thought it was an act, that you were saying you were some sort of vampire Slayer just to get out of being punished when you missed curfew. And then we thought it was just for attention… and then, we didn't know what to think. Pumpkin, there were so many reasons not to believe you… but when nearly every trustable business magazine says that someone's a vampire, it's hard not to believe them." He explained. The oven started beeping at that moment. All three of them were relieved for the distraction. "That's dinner." Hank stated, standing. "Why don't we all move into the kitchen to eat." He suggested, quickly walking into the kitchen to make sure the food didn't. Buffy and Angel stood slowly. Buffy had started into the kitchen when Angel's hands grabbed onto her hips. He turned her around and pulled her into a tight hug, and Buffy smiled, because an Angel hug was just what she needed then. He let go of her to gently cup her cheeks in his hands, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He was surprised at the quiet giggle she made.  
"You were on magazines," She teased. "With your broody face on." Angel rolled his eyes, and the two of them headed into the kitchen, now hand in hand, fingers laced. Ready to face the worst. And the worst stared them in the face.

Hanks cooking.

The three of them sat in Hank's dining room, feasting on the monstrosity Hank had prepared. They hadn't really been talking much since they'd switched rooms. Angel had commented on how wonderful the food was, an obvious lie, but Hank was just happy Angel was polite. Finally Hank cleared his throat. "So, how did you two meet?" He asked, pretending to be interested as he took another large bite of his meal. Angel glanced at Buffy, trying to think of what to say. 'In an ally; she kicked me down and got on top of me.' Didn't seem right for the moment.  
"He helped me fight the vampires when I moved to Sunnydale." Buffy said without looking up from her meal, the fingers of her free hand still laced with Angel's under the table.  
"Oh," Hank shifted in his chair. "So, Buffy, how's your sister?"  
"She's good. I talked to on the phone a few days ago. She absolutely adores school."  
"Art school, right?" Hank asked. Buffy nodded.  
"She's really into photography. She sent me some of her photographs, they're phenomenal."  
"Oh, well that's good for her." Hank smiled.

The rest of the meal was relatively quiet. Until Hank said something about hockey. That struck up a surprisingly heated discussion of sports, between Hank and Angel, while Buffy just stared at the two of them silently. Until, of course, Angel brought her into the conversation, mentioning her fighting talent, and how wonderful he thought she'd be at hockey. It was then that the conversation shifted to life as a vampire Slayer. Hank was amazed to find all the things his daughter had done for the world. To find out that he'd helped bring a true hero into the world.

"That was a great meal dad, but, uh, I'm really tired."  
"Oh, well, I wish you could stay a little longer." Hank lied.  
"We would, but, you know, tired, need sleep, sorry!"  
"We'll just have to do this again another time." Angel said politely, his arm around Buffy.  
"Yeah, another time would be nice. Same time next week sound alright?" Hank asked. Buffy and Angel both nodded at the same time, giving small, partially fake, smiles.  
"That sounds wonderful, dad."  
"Yeah, that sounds really great, Mr.Summers."  
"Oh please, call me Hank!" Hank insisted. Angel's smile widened.  
"Anyway!" Buffy cut Angel off before he said anything. "We'd better be going, right honey?" She poked Angel hard in the side.  
"Ow." Angel squeaked, and then nodded. "Yeah, we'll see you next week, --Hank." Buffy latched on to Angel's hand and started leading him out. "You have sharp nails, I think I'm bleeding." Angel whispered. Buffy couldn't help but smile at his whining, it was kind of cute.  
"I'll meet you in the car." Buffy let go of his hand, "I just want to say bye to my dad." Angel nodded and walked out to the car, sitting in the front seat, turning it on, fiddling with the heater so he could make it the absolute perfect temperature, just trying to occupy himself while he waited for Buffy.

"It was great to see you, princess." Hank murmured, hugging Buffy tightly, kissing the side of her head. "I really missed you."  
"I missed you too, dad." Buffy replied, they held the hug for a long moment, and then Buffy finally pulled away. "Dinner was great. I can't wait for next week."  
"Me either." Hank smiled. The two of them stood in comfortable silence for a few seconds.  
"Well, bye…" And with that Buffy turned and started out to the car.  
"Bye." Hank waved. "Oh! And Buffy," She turned around to face her father. "I approve of him. He's a lot better than that other boy you brought home. What was his name, Tim?"  
"Tyler, and yeah, Angel is a lot better." They shared one of those classic after school special smiles, and then Buffy waved, and walked to the car. Hank stood in the doorway and watched after their car until it was out of sight

xxxxxxxx

Authors Note: Um, sorry for the extremely long delay. I've been suffering from some health issues and stuff like that. Also computer trouble. I lost this a few times, so this is the rerererererewritten version. Just because of the long wait, I've decided to add the next chapter on as well. Also, because I'm not sure if I'm here to stay, and I'd like to leave you with something to read for longer than just a few minutes in my absence.

Xxxxxxxxx

Buffy and Angel dropped the car off, deciding that this evening was the best for walking down to the ice skating rink, breaking in, and skating. Yes, breaking in. What, you expected them to actually skate with other people around? Buffy knew full well that Angel was a terrible skater, and with other people around, she would never get him on the ice. And after all these years, the two of them were extremely confident in their breaking and entering skills.

So now they walked, their fingers laced, leaning against each other, towards the ice skating rink. Until Angel froze, and Buffy nearly tripped over his leg. He held her steady, flashing an apologetic smile. "What?" Buffy asked, wondering why he'd stopped so suddenly. Angel slowly shook his head, brushing it off.

"Nothing, I thought I felt something." He replied, slowly, his eyes scanning the area. Buffy looked somewhat alarmed.

"Felt what? Danger?" She asked, alert. Angel just shook his head.

"A friend. I thought I felt a friend."

"Barely a friend, but you did feel a son." Came a voice from behind. Angel spun around, a large smile now on his face. "Long time no see, how've you been, Pop?" Connor asked, sounding somewhat cocky, a pile of books held tightly in his arms. Angel didn't notice Buffy's mouthing the word 'son' and looking a little pale.

"Connor," Angel greeted, the smile on his face seeping into his tone. "I've been—it has been a long time—this is—what are those books—I… need to start making full sentences." Angel smiled bashfully. "Sorry, uh," He noticed Connor looking questioning at Buffy. "Oh, this is Buffy, my fiancé." He stated. "Buffy, this is Connor my s—"

"Son." Buffy cut Angel off, her brows furrowed. Her fingers slowly loosened. Angel stiffened, realizing he'd never told Buffy about Connor.

"Well, you sure do go for blondes." Connor stated, eyeing Buffy. "Fetish, much?" Angel blushed, slightly.

"How has—college been?" Angel changed the subject.

"Hard work. Barely any free time. In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you right now, I should be studying."

"Oh, if you—…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm good at test taking; I can take a little time off my studying." Angel smiled. Buffy slowly leaned against Angel, forcing herself to smile. Angel seemed happy seeing Connor, so she'd be happy too. Or at least, she'd pretend.

"How are your grades?" Angel asked, leaning into the normal fatherly questions. "Do you have a girlfriend? Staying away from drugs?" The questions would've kept coming, but Buffy's finger digging into his side, and Connors nearly annoyed look stopped him.

"I've been getting good grades. I've barely been able to keep in touch with my girlfriend, so I think there's an imminent breakup in the close future. And I don't do any drugs." He answered, quickly. Angel let out a small sigh as Buffy's finger left his side. Buffy had obviously known that Angel's asking too many questions may drive the boy away, and making his side bleed was a way of warning him.

"How old are you?" Buffy suddenly spoke up.

"Nearly 20." Buffy's eyes widened at Connor's answer.

"You had him while you were dating me!" Buffy's voice rose, looking up at Angel, no longer leaning on him. Angel frowned, shaking his head. Connor frowned too.

"I grew up in a hell dimension. I should be like, four." Connor explained, almost painfully. Angel and he both stared down at the ground, now.

"O-oh…" And with that, she slowly leaned back against Angel, who gave a small smile and slid his arm around her.

"I should get going now," Connor stated, already starting back on his walk.

"Wait." Angel stopped him, pulling some paper out of his pocket, along with a pen. Why he carries a pen and paper around is beyond me, but he does. He scribbled down his number, handing it to Connor. "If you ever feel chatty, you can call me. Or if you need help with history homework, I'm good with that too." Connor nodded, smiling down at the paper.

"That's to be expected, seeing as you lived through most of what they're teaching in my history class. I'll call… we'll keep in touch." He guaranteed, before walking away.

As soon as he was out of sight, Buffy smacked Angel lightly on the shoulder. "How come you never told me you had a son?"

"I'll explain it all on the way to the skating rink." Angel promised with a smile, and he and Buffy, fingers once again laced, started again on their walk to the ice skating rink.

"Interesting day…" Buffy mused. "First you meet my father, then I meet your son." She paused, letting go of his hand. Her hand trailed up his back, slowly. Suddenly in his hair, messing it up. As soon as her hand was out of his hair she was running.

"That was a cheap shot!" Angel called after her, chasing. He caught her, she let him, his hands on her hips. He pulled her back into him, and began tickling her from behind. She struggled, helplessly giggling.

Five minutes later they were on the ground, kissing, tickling, and messing up each others hair.


	15. The Night Will Go As Follows

Authors Note: I'm so sorry for another extremely long wait. I don't have the motivation to get new chapters out quickly. Long stories have never been my thing. I have a short attention span. I'll try and update quickly next time, but I'm not making any promises.

"Angel, I don't care if you can't skate. I won't laugh at you, I promise." Buffy coaxed Angel. But the black clad man stood stiff, awkward in the unfamiliar feel of the ice skates on his feet. He stood on the rugged land, staring at Buffy who stood on the slippery ice. She was so full of grace, and so innocent. He was taken aback by her beauty, bashfully toeing the ground with his foot like a nervous little school boy, hands laced and sweaty behind his back. She smiled at him, holding out her own hand. Her hands fascinated him in so many ways. They were so small, they fit so perfectly in his own. They never seemed to be unsure, they barely ever shook. They were so warm and soft and silky. She was an amazing creature; he had to give her that. "Just one step, Angel. I won't let you fall." She promised, hand still outstretched to him. He stared at it a long moment before raising his eyes to meet her gaze. She was smiling at him, almost tauntingly. He was angry for a single moment that she could be so pretty and calm while he was nervous out of his wits by the mere thought of stepping out onto that ice with these confounded ice skates strapped to his feet.

"I'm not worried about falling—well, okay, I am. But not like—I mean I'm worried I'll take you down with me if I fall." Angel confessed, hands still behind his back. Buffy smiled cutely, skating to the edge of the ice. She lifted both hands to his shoulders and used him as a balance as she lifted herself up onto her toes and rose her chin to brush her lips against his own. He was still a moment before his hands detached from each other and flew to her hips, helping her further keep her balance. "It's easy for you." He frowned when their lips had finally parted. "You're like an amazing beautiful ice princess, and you're so graceful." She just smiled up at him. Because she had him now. Her hands left his shoulders and before he had time to react they'd enveloped his hands. She was stronger than him, he'd willingly admit to that. And she often used it to her advantage. She dragged him out onto the ice. He slid, legs parting, trying to let go of her so she wouldn't fall if he did, but she held tight. She kept him upright. They stood still for a long moment before Buffy slowly forced Angel to take a single step while on the ice. He was shaking, obviously uncomfortable on this new slippery ground. "Buffy," He breathed her name, suddenly holding tight to her hands.

"You're doing fine." She assured him, pulling him along, teaching him. She taught him to turn, and stop, and stay balanced. She taught him until finally he got the hang of it and let go of one of her hands.

"This is nice." He admitted, the two of them skating around the small rink hand in hand.

"You're a natural." She commended. He shook his head.

"You're only saying that because you love me." He caught her. She paused a moment, then nodded in agreement with his statement, letting out a small chuckle. "I'm terrible at this." He stated, giving a half-hearted pout. At this Buffy grinned, leaning in for another kiss. But Angel still wasn't very balanced, and as soon as she leaned into him he toppled over, taking her down with him. Although luckily for her she landed on top. The two of them were perfectly still for a moment, Buffy lying on top of Angel who was sprawled out on the ice, both unharmed. And then moments later Buffy burst out laughing. Her laugh was as infectious as the plague, and soon enough Angel was laughing as well. A few minutes of laughing so hard that tears streaked there cheeks later Buffy felt Angel shivering beneath her.

"Oh, God, you must be freezing!" She exclaimed, quickly standing up and holding out a hand to help him up. He took her hand and merely pulled her back down on top of him.

"Then warm me up." He breathed, his mouth close to her ear. It was her turn to shiver now, a delicate chill running down her spine, evoked by his smooth voice, and the feel of his breath warm on her neck and ear. Her fingers timidly treaded along the hem of his shirt.

"Let's get off the ice, and then I'll warm you up." She murmured, her seductress side shining through. And the passion that ignited within him, oh it made his heart skip a beat, then pound furiously in his chest. Sweet anticipation. She stood again, offering her hand down to him. He graciously took it, and she helped him stand. It didn't take them long to get off the ice, and nearly as soon as they stepped off the frozen liquid they were tangled in a passionate and fiery kiss. A kiss that was interrupted by a cough. They pulled away simultaneously, still holding each other close. And that's when they saw the cop. Buffy frowned. But Angel smiled.

"Kate." He greeted. Buffy furrowed her brows, glancing up at Angel, before looking back at Kate. The female did look familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out where she'd met her before. Certainly she wouldn't remember that entire ordeal with Faith years ago.

"Angel." Kate mimicked his greeting, giving a small nod. "You aware that this is breaking and entering?"

"Is it?" Angel asked, giving a faux innocent look.

"You working on a case?" She asked curiously. If his reason for being there was that he was trying to save someone, well she wouldn't bother him then.

"I'm not in that business anymore." Angel admitted. Buffy noted the slight sullenness in his tone, remaining silent.

"What business are you in, then?" Kate inquired, all arched brow and arms crossed over her chest.

"The business of being human?" Angel tried, before shrugging. "Unemployed." He stated. Kate looked abashed a moment, surprised by the news.

"Human?" Inquisitive, her stance loosened, her brows furrowed. Curiosity was written all over her face.

"Human." Angel confirmed. Kate blinked at him, obviously trying to get over this news.

"How did _that_ happen?" Kate asked.

"Saved the world, it was my reward." Angel explained, waving a hand through the air as if to dismiss the subject.

"You guys can go free this time, but if I catch you breaking and entering again you'll be in deep trouble." Kate warned them, eyeing the couple.

"Thank you." Buffy finally spoke up. Kate shook her head.

"Don't thank me. I owe Angel, anyway." She stated, glancing at Angel, before she gave a small nod of goodbye and started out.

"Kate," Angel stopped her, leaving Buffy's side to walk towards the police woman, who had turned to look at him again. "You don't owe me a thing." He told her, clasping a hand on her shoulder a moment, a sign that he felt they were even, now. Kate smiled, then turned and started out again, bidding her farewells with a wave of her hand in their direction, before disappearing out the door. Angel stared after her a moment, before turning back to Buffy. His hands quickly grabbed hold of her hips, and he pulled her against him. "Now, where were we?" Angel asked, smug grin on his lips. Buffy stared up at him a moment, before snuggling her body against his.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I was about…, here." She murmured, lifting herself to her toes to kiss him on the lips. He returned the kiss, grinning wildly against her lips.

"Yeah," He mumbled into the kiss, "There feels about right." 


End file.
